MTV’S 2013 “Video Music Awards” to Take Place Sunday, August 25th, Live From Barclays Center.

Mar 25, 2013

BROOKLYN, NY (MARCH 25, 2013) - MTV , a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is set to make history by bringing the 2013 “Video Music Awards” to Brooklyn, New York for the first time ever. Airing LIVE from Barclays Center on Sunday, August 25, this year’s “Video Music Awards” will mark the 30th anniversary of the show and become the first major annual award show to take place in the borough of Brooklyn.

“From a vibrant musical scene for up and coming artists to epic concerts by today's biggest stars and the triumphant return of pro sports to the borough after nearly 60 years, Brooklyn has re-emerged as a cultural capitol where music, sports and entertainment history is made every day,” said Stephen Friedman, President of MTV. “We can’t wait to help write the next chapter on August 25th, when one of the biggest nights in music happens in Brooklyn… for the very first time.”

“Brooklyn is home to icons like the Cyclone in Coney Island and the Brooklyn Bridge, and now it can lay claim to the MTV ‘Video Music Awards,’” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Bringing the VMAs to Brooklyn will mean hundreds of jobs as crews work on the production and provide a boost to our local economy as attendees stay in hotels, visit local eateries and experience all Brooklyn and our City have to offer.”

“MTV’s ‘Video Music Awards’ are the perfect culmination to an incredible inaugural year for Barclays Center,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Barclays Center. “The VMAs are a symbol of pop culture and have created iconic moments worldwide in music and entertainment. Brooklyn has become an international brand and is the perfect setting for these moments. We can’t wait to share our stage with the world.”

“From hip-hop to hipsters, JAY Z to MGMT, Brooklyn musicians have a long history of dominating the ‘spotlight’ on MTV. Brooklyn is a cultural Mecca—the hippest, coolest place for young people across the country, and has played a crucial role in the careers of some of 2013’s biggest bands, like Fun and the Lumineers,” stated Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Now, it is only fitting that the first time Brooklyn will ever host a major awards show, we are welcoming the most exciting and talked about spectacle in the music industry: the ‘MTV Video Music Awards.’ What better venue than the newest, most beautiful, most state-of-the-art arena in the country, Barclays Center. Bravo to MTV on a decision that hits all the right notes and strikes all the right chords. I’m so thrilled that I’ll probably get ‘no sleep till Brooklyn’ hosts the VMAs!”

MTV Video Music Awards
Since the first “MTV Video Music Awards” aired in 1984, the VMAs instantly earned its reputation for delivering the most popular bands and artists to create the loudest, most influential and at times, the most controversial, annual live celebration of music in the world. No other award show has been responsible for creating more memorable or bigger musical moments in pop culture history than the MTV Video Music Awards. From Madonna, Michael Jackson, Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana to Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Kanye West, an appearance on the VMA stage can forever change the trajectory of an artist’s career in one single night.

The 2012 “MTV Video Music Awards,” broadcast live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, was the #1 telecast across all TV for the night of September 6, 2012 in P12-34, scoring a 5.3 P12-34 rating with 6.1 million total viewers. Across the Viacom networks (MTV, VH1, MTV2 and Logo) the simulcast of the premiere averaged 8.0 million total viewers. Encore presentations of the 2012 show on MTV earned a 2.4 P12-34 rating at 10:00 p.m., and a 1.2 P12-34 rating at 12:00 a.m., for a total rating of 8.9 for the evening.

At the time, the telecast was also the #1 social TV event of the year according to Trendrr. With more than 19 million mentions, the 2012 VMAs more than tripled the full-day social-media response of 2012’s record breaking telecast. In addition, MTV drove more online streams on this date than any other VMA show ever, and generated nearly a whopping 200 topics trended throughout the night, both in the U.S. and worldwide.

The 2013 “MTV Video Music Awards” will air across MTV’s global network of more than 60 channels reaching more than a half-billion households around the world as well as through syndication. In addition, its convergent programming and content will reach the entire interactive community, via MTV’s more than 200 digital media properties around the world. The 2012 VMAs was one of MTV’s top performers in key markets across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.